John wasn't feeling so hot this morning, so instead of going to church I spent my morning finishing Somewhere in Time. It's the first book I've ever read that wasn't better than it's movie adaptation. The movie is actually quite a bit better. Not that the book is bad, exactly, but the writing is a little too sappy, a little too contrived. Plus, the movie has such fantastic music.

If you haven't seen the movie version of Somewhere in Time, you should. It's just one of those movies everyone should see, even if they don't like it. Like Sunset Blvd. or the first Indiana Jones.

There are a few differences between the book and the movie that don't really effect the plot. For example, the book takes place at the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego (the hotel from Some Like It Hot--another movie everyone should see, even if they don't like it) and the movie centers around the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. When I got done reading, I googled "Somewhere in Time" because it's been a while since I've seen the movie and I was curious about what other differences there might be. I found the website for INSITE, the International Network of Somewhere In Time Enthusiasts. These people mean business!

Yesterday John and I were listening to a popcast of Spy Vs. Pie, a show done by some guys John knows, and they were talking about the idea of owning a portrait or piece of artwork from a movie. (John would pick Vigo from Ghostbusters II, which I think is super creepy.) I couldn't really think of anything. I couldn't think of any portrait or art from a movie at all, much less one that I'd actually want. And then today I found this: the portrait of Elise. Seriously? Is there anything creepier than that? I mean, if someone hadn't seen the movie and didn't recognize Jane Seymour, it'd just look like an old picture of a relative. Which makes it creepier, right?

One thing I don't think is creepy (partly because I've owned a Phantom of the Opera monkey music box for years) is the Grand Hotel music box. In fact, it would make the perfect birthday present for my sister...except that it's $500.

My favorite thing about the INSITE website? The "back" button is a penny.

So awesome!

Labels: books., movies., music.

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A couple of weeks ago, I bought these really cute orange popsicle and pink cupcake hairclips at this neat, alternative toy store in Silverlake called Monkeyhouse. I haven't really worn them yet, but that isn't why I bought them anyway. I just like looking at them. And then today I found something just as cute that I might actually use: a donut pouch, a slice of cake pouch, and a popsicle coin purse.

Labels: me and the awesome things I like.

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I couldn't stop reading In Persuasion Nation this week. It's been a long time, if ever, that I've read anything so funny and depressingly true. The stories are great--original, skillful, and haunting. While I appreciate that, yes, it is satire, the sheer power and ruthlessness of advertising that Saunders explores feels very much like the plain truth.

There's an iPod ad at Santa Monica Blvd and Highland that's literally the entire side of a building. And it changes. Every few months or so there's some new silhouetted person, dancing so excitedly while the cord from their earphones swings maniacally through the air, always looking like they're either going to accidentally hang themselves or fall out of the ad and step on some poor, unsuspecting semi. Because they're always big enough to crush a semi with one foot. Do we seriously need ads that large? No. We. Don't. The iPod itself keeps getting smaller and smaller, but when I was last at the Griffith Observatory, that freakin' ad was the only thing I could recognize while looking down into Hollywood--because then, on the top of a mountain, looking down, it was a reasonable size.

A book I ordered finally came off backorder today. I was probably a little more excited about it than I should've been. But it's just so purdy. In Stitches by Amy Butler. Makes me wanna buy fabric.

Labels: books., political stuff., sewing/crafting.

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I'm delighted to say that I've just finished reading a book so new and fresh that there aren't any Amazon reviews for it yet. This is really nothing to be proud of, but I am proud of it. Ha, you horrible reviewers! You clowns who never agree with me on anything! Ha! I've beaten you! You will not mar my fresh approach, my mind clear of preconceptions! I win!

Except, of course, that I don't win. Not this time. The first I heard of this book was a few weeks ago when I stumbled across a promotional website. Never before have I ever had the experience of liking a book's website more than the actual book. But such is the case for Miranda July's No One Belongs Here More Than You, which you can take or leave, and its website, which I hope you will look at and find as funny as I did.

That being said, one of the stranger things about my particular reading experience was that I kept seeing Lyon, a character in the last story, as Dakota Fanning (this actually makes some sense, since the story did have elements similar to a couple of her movies, but whatever), who I saw in a Marc Jacobs ad yesterday looking like death in fancy glasses and a lop-sided kimono. She looked as healthy and original as an Olsen twin. I finally found the photo here. Who would do that?

That weird little problem didn't arise until the last story, so it's wasn't really a factor in my opinion of the book as a whole. And actually, I'm not really sure what to think of the book as a whole. It was interesting and quirky, but crass unexpectedly and, I think, a little gratuitously.

Labels: books.

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I so love Stephen Colbert. He's on my tv now and, even though he isn't what I was planning on talking about, seeing his smiling face makes me unable to talk about anything else. He's just so darn cute.

Okay, enough ooeygooey Colbert love. The city is on fire. Literally. The zoo closed early. You know how I love the zoo. The pictures are all over the internet and they're terrifying. The Los Feliz area has been evacuated and most of the area doesn't have electricity. John and I went and oogled it this evening.

In lesser news (much lesser),I finished The God of Animals Sunday night. I loved so much of it, I hate to give it anything less than a glowing recommendation...but... I don't know. I enjoyed reading it and the characters were great...but... I don't know. I think it's worth reading. I'm glad I read it. That's enough, right?

Labels: books., los angeles is weird., tv.

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